The landscape of college athletics took center stage each of the last two summers as conference realignment in NCAA Division I was a lead story seemingly every day. Those changes appear to be anything but over and likely won’t be for some time.
But the terrain adjustment in college sports is not limited to the D-I level and this can be seen clearly without traveling outside the Sooner State. There is, and has been for a couple of years, an upheaval of the status quo in Oklahoma that hasn’t been seen around here since the mid-‘90s.
Of course, OU and OSU were in the news much during this time with the loss of now four members of the Big 12 and the flirtation (real or bluffed) with the Pac 12. The Big 12, which looked as though extinction was in its near future just a few months ago, now appears much stronger, and even more so with the announcement of a joint venture with the SEC for a bowl game starting in 2014.
However, much of the recent actual change started with a shakeup on the NCAA Division II level, specifically in the Lone Star Conference. East Central, Southeastern and Southwestern left to join six schools from Arkansas to form the Great American Conference. Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State also departed the LSC to join the MIAA.
The shifts are continuing, though, as some Oklahoma schools are seeking not only realignment, but also new levels of competition.
In 2011, Southern Nazarene, Northwestern and Oklahoma Christian (all NAIA schools) applied for membership in NCAA D-II. They were not alone as many other universities throughout the country also applied. At least 16 schools petitioned for D-II membership, but only 10 were accepted, two more than the eight it was thought the NCAA would take.
Southern Nazarene was the only one of the Oklahoma schools to be accepted.
ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO
The Crimson Storm has nearly completed Year One of a three-year transition period. And the process is going smoothly according to SNU sports information director David Noblett.
“I don’t believe there have been any hiccups,” Noblett said.
The football program alone can attest to that. In its final season in NAIA, the Storm had its best season in school history.
SNU also participated in the national playoffs in women’s basketball, men’s basketball, softball, women’s tennis, women’s golf and men’s golf (this week).
Noblett said that the recruiting process hasn’t taken a hit either, and there is an excitement around the campus. Although during this transitional time, SNU will be ineligible for the postseason for the next two years, there is still plenty to play for.
And in the meantime, Southern Nazarene may join the National Christian College Athletic Association.
“We haven’t been associated with the NCCAA since the ‘70s or ‘80s,” Noblett said. “But it’s an organization that does match our mindset. It’s possible that we may stay with them as well.”
The NCCAA is an organization that provides for and promotes intercollegiate athletic competition from a Christian perspective.
Southern Nazarene has been accepted into membership in the Great American Conference and will play GAC and D-II schedules in 2012-2013.
RANGERS HOPE TO RIDE
Being denied in 2011 fazed neither Northwestern nor Oklahoma Christian and both are applying for D-II membership again by the June 1 application deadline.
“We are in the process of applying again,” said Allan Scarabello, NWOSU Director of Athletic
Communications.
He went on to address the school’s conference affiliation as well. Northwestern was admitted into the Great American Conference last year and along with SNU will be the conference’s first two expansion schools.
“We’re in the GAC regardless,” Scarabello said. “It’s a matter of being accepted or denied into Division II. But I know we will be playing in the GAC whether we’re accepted or not.”
Northwestern was the only one of the “directional” state schools that chose to stay with the NAIA when ECU, NSU, SOSU and SWOSU moved 15 years ago to D-II. (UCO made the jump in 1991.) But there were positives for the Rangers in staying.
Among those was the national championship the Rangers’ football team earned in 1999, a big deal because the football program is a school’s most visible and premiere money making segment of the athletic department.
EAGLES BELIEVE THEY CAN FLY
The same resolve exists at Oklahoma Christian. Murray Evans, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations, says that OC is confident about their chances for acceptance.
“We know what went wrong last time,” Evans said. “Everything that needed to be adjusted has been worked on since then.”
When announcing its intentions to apply to the NCAA, OC said in a release that changes in the composition of the NAIA and the growth of the university have led the school to re-evaluate its affiliation. The school stated that it is looking to make the jump because its strategic values and long-term vision are more closely aligned with the NCAA.
“The Eagles are having a lot of success right now,” Evans said. And though the university touts its success in the classroom as well as on the field of play, it’s apparent that the athletic teams are shining brightly right now.
At the time Evans spoke with OSB, he was preparing information for six different teams to compete on the national level of playoffs. The OC men’s tennis team took the national title on May 19.
“We’re also making improvements with our facilities,” Evans said. “We’re building a new softball stadium and the baseball stadium we have is relatively new, too.”
Oklahoma Christian has been accepted into the Heartland Conference and will be playing a full Heartland Conference schedule starting in the fall.
NAIA to NCAA – Part 2
NAIA to NCAA – Part 3
Photos: Oklahoma Sports Blog file photos.